Mr. Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to speak to this issue here this evening, and thanks to my colleague from Vancouver East for her questions.
Canada's asylum system is highly regarded around the world. It is considered a fair, safe, and effective model. We are working closely with our partners, the Canada Border Services Agency, the RCMP, and the Immigration and Refugee Board, in order to make our system even more effective.
Any individual in need of protection, regardless of their country of origin, is entitled to a full, fact-based hearing before the board, an independent quasi-judiciary body that processes all asylum claims fairly.
The board decides who is a convention refugee or a person in need of Canada's protection after examining the merits of every refugee claim, based on the facts of each claim submitted and in compliance with Canada's immigration laws.
In addition to working closely with the board and our security partners, the government is committed to ensuring that protecting refugees remains at the core of its asylum policies.
I assure my colleague that the government is concerned about the backlogs and is working to resolve the situation. For example, the IRB recently announced initiatives to reduce the backlog and expedite application processing. The government is currently conducting an independent review of the IRB.
I knew that my colleague would probably ask a question about the safe third country agreement. I would like to again quote the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Canada. I know the member does not like it when we quote that person, but I will do it anyway. He said:
I really think that the conditions which prevailed at the time of the drafting and adoption of the safe third country agreement in 2004 are the same as [they are today], and...it will be difficult to change the policy...[that is] seen as a good co-operation, a good responsibility-sharing between two...systems [that have] the same values and the same procedural guarantees. As far as the asylum system is concerned in the United States, legally speaking, we have not seen a change.
This is from the High Commissioner for Refugees. Again, I am surprised to hear the member opposite questioning this person's expertise on the issue of the Canada-U.S. safe third country agreement.
Again, we are sparing no effort to make this system as efficient as possible, and we anticipate making further improvements to ensure it continues to garner respect around the world.
We made a commitment to Canadians to make our asylum system fair, safe, and efficient, and we are going to deliver on that commitment.